US announces $7 billion in hydrogen hub funding

The Biden administration has selected seven projects for funding in the US Department of Energy’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. The recipients, which are spread across the US, will each receive about $1 billion in federal money. When all seven projects are operating, they will produce 3 million metric tons (t) per year of low-carbon hydrogen and eliminate 25 million t of carbon dioxide emissions, the DOE says.

At an event in Philadelphia announcing the funding choices, US president Joe Biden called climate change an existential threat to humanity and highlighted hydrogen’s ability to replace fossil fuels in heavy industries like chemical production. “When it comes to charging our cars or powering our homes, all we need is clean electricity . . . And we’re getting close to meeting that goal,” Biden said. “But when it comes to manufacturing things like steel, aluminum, and other materials, factories need to process material at over 1,000 °F . . . You need to burn fuel to get that done. You can’t get it done with wind and solar power.”

The administration is funding several different hydrogen production technologies, an approach backed by Tony Pan, co-founder of the methane pyrolysis start-up Modern Hydrogen. “So far, the government deserves a big kudos for how they’re supporting clean hydrogen. Instead of picking winners and losers directly, most of the incentives are technology agnostic,” Pan says. Some hubs will use water electrolysis powered by renewable or nuclear energy, some will upgrade biomass or waste into hydrogen, and some will pair fossil fuel-derived hydrogen production with carbon capture.

Aaron Lang, an environmental and energy attorney at the law firm Foley Hoag, says the funding is exciting, but project developers are still waiting to learn what CO₂ emission thresholds they’ll have to meet. “Right now, there are a lot of unanswered questions,” Lang says. At the same time, $7 billion is going to attract a lot of attention. “It’s important to get started early,” he says. “Answers are forthcoming.”

Not everyone is happy about the administration’s announcement, especially its inclusion of hydrogen derived from fossil fuels. “Hydrogen is a dangerous distraction, and the build out of hydrogen hubs puts communities further at risk,” says Jane Patton, an environmental advocate at the Center for International Environmental Law. “Hydrogen production with the use of carbon capture, a technology proven to be ineffective, increases emissions into the air and water, and runs directly contrary to the Biden administration’s promises on environmental justice and human rights protections.”

And David Dodds, a chemical technology consultant, cautions that hydrogen is rarely the perfect fuel. “Hydrogen is a very valuable and useful chemical. While it is certainly suited to combustion, it is not a useful fuel except where very high process temperatures are needed, or where electrical heating is otherwise difficult,” he says. “Why move the entire H₂ molecule when you just need to move the electrons?”